Metal detecting

[Cosmo]

I’m taking our family camping at the beach next week, and we’re going to bring our metal detector ?

We bought a White’s Treasure Pro a few years ago, but haven’t had much of a chance to use it. It’s a great little machine though:

I’ll post any interesting things I find, but if you’re into this stuff and found something worth sharing then I’d love to see it.

 

[PaulaJedi]

I used a metal detector around my property (15 acres) in the hopes of finding pioneer items, as I live really close to the Cracker Trail, but so far I have only found rebar, wire fencing, and a rusty trailer hook that I do not think is antique. I do occasionally get false positives. You come back later and nothing is there.

Part of my property gets flooded during rainy season, so I think most of this was under water years ago, sadly a big swamp. (No worries, the house is on a little hill). I’m a bit disappointed. I wanted to find an old horse shoe, lantern, button, etc. I’ll keep trying, though. I don’t dig close to the house at all, only in the woods.

 

[Cosmo]

We went camping at the beach this last weekend, and I was able to take my metal detector. Didn’t find anything at all, but had fun showing my kids how it works. Our two year-old was impressed ?

I’d like to use this machine more often, but don’t know where to go. If anyone has suggestions for good hunting places in southwestern Washington state (or northwest Oregon) I’d be happy to check it out.

I just found out White’s Electronics folded up last year ?

 

[PaulaJedi]

I guess I have what is called a “cheap” metal detector. It only cost about $120. I wonder how deep I’d have to go in order to find anything significant. My property has SO MUCH sand.

 

[PaulaJedi]

I haven’t found any antiques, but I am not sharing my finds because of that website I have been discussing with your wife. LOL. I need to go out and do it today, though. The ground will be soft from the rain and I need the exercise. My arms are always sore afterwards. That’s a good thing. ?

 

[PaulaJedi]

@Cosmo, what have you found metal detecting?

 

[Cosmo]

Three dented bottle caps and a long rusted nail.

To be fair though, I haven’t been able to use it as much as I’d like. Things are changing now though, so I’ll find some good places nearby and maybe livestream some incredibly boring metal-detecting.

 

[Curiosity]

I have a metal detector of my own, haven’t used it much recently though. Most recent thing I found was an old horse spur, was in pretty bad shape sadly.

 

[Cosmo]

LOL, at least what you found was actually old ? What sort of places do you usually try to go?

 

[Curiosity]

What sort of places do you usually try to go?

Been to a few open fields around me. I believe they used to be farmland which could explain the spur.

 

[Cosmo]

Have you ever been told you’re not allowed to be doing that there?

There’s a lot of open fields and farms and trails around here, especially the Mount Saint Helens area. You can’t metal detect there (natural preserve), but I’m sure there’s plenty of areas I could go wander around. My luck I’d wander onto land owned by someone who doesn’t like visitors.

 

[Curiosity]

Have you ever been told you’re not allowed to be doing that there?

Nope, not once. I don’t try to push my luck too much though. I always fill up any holes I make after too.

 

[Cosmo]

In my limited exposure to the metal detecting community, this is one of the biggest things they yell at people for I would never leave a hole for someone to break an ankle, but I guess plenty of people do ?

 

[Curiosity]

It truly takes no effort to fill a hole too, I suppose some people do not have much respect for others. I received my metal detector as a gift about two years ago and used it quite often the first year. Never found anything noteworthy

 

[Martian]

I think it’d be cool to mount a metal detector (without the handle, of course) on a drone & have it sweep back & forth in a raster pattern over the ground, relaying info wirelessly back to a computer for imaging.

 

[Cosmo]

I think I've seen similar contraptions on shows like Oak Island. Who knew watching people dig holes was as entertaining as it is.

 

[Cosmo]

I think it’d be cool to mount a metal detector (without the handle, of course) on a drone & have it sweep back & forth in a raster pattern over the ground, relaying info wirelessly back to a computer for imaging.

Didn't they do something similar in one episode? They had a season where people came in with their ideas, and one of them was this group of people who used satellite imaging and other stuff to "sense" that there was a cache or rubies here or a bunch of gold there. I'd have to dig to find the show, but it reminded me of that.

It'd be fun to break the detector out again and go tromping through our 30 acres. Probably plenty to find, people have been in and out of here for hundreds of years.